Nonvolatile memory with control circuit adapted to distinguish between command signal interface specifications and having an error correction function

Abstract

For a nonvolatile memory permitting electrical writing and erasing of information to be stored, such as a flash memory, the load on the system developer is to be reduced, and it is to be made possible to avoid, even if such important data for the system as management and address translation information are damaged, an abnormal state in which the system becomes unable to operate. The nonvolatile memory is provided with a replacing function to replace a group of memory cells including defective memory cells which are incapable of normal writing or erasion with a group of memory cells including no defective memory cell, a numbers of rewrites averaging function to grasp the number of data rewrites in each group of memory cells and to so perform replacement of memory cell groups that there may arise no substantial difference in the number of rewrites among a plurality of memory cell groups, and an error correcting function to detect and correct any error in data stored in the memory array, wherein first address translation information deriving from the replacing function and second address translation information deriving from the numbers of rewrites averaging function are stored in respectively prescribed areas in the memory array, and the first address translation information and second address translation information concerning the same memory cell group are stored in a plurality of sets in a time series.

1. A nonvolatile memory comprising:
 a memory array including a plurality of nonvolatile memory cells; and 
 a control circuit, 
 wherein said control circuit is adapted to receive a command which corresponds to one of a first interface specification and a second interface specification, to recognize whether said command corresponds to said first interface specification or said second interface specification in accordance with a command specification type signal, and to perform an operation in response to said command, 
 wherein in performing a read operation in response to a read command as said command, said control circuit performs control for reading data stored in ones of said plurality of nonvolatile memory cells of said memory array, checking said data for error, error correcting said data by an error correcting circuit when an error is present in said data, and outputting error corrected data. 
 
     
     
       2. A nonvolatile memory according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein said first interface specification is a NAND specification. 
 
     
     
       3. A nonvolatile memory according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein said second interface specification is an AND specification. 
 
     
     
       4. A nonvolatile memory according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein said command specification type signal is a bonding option signal. 
 
     
     
       5. A nonvolatile memory according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein said control circuit comprises a command convert circuit, and 
 wherein said command convert circuit converts a first command corresponding to said first interface specification for performing said read operation to a second command corresponding to said second interface specification for performing said read operation. 
 
     
     
       6. A nonvolatile memory according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein said memory array includes a nonvolatile memory cell for storing an error correcting code used for said error correcting by said error correcting circuit.